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GRINNELL, IA—Grinnell College professor Gerald V. Lalonde will deliver the fifth annual McKibben Lecture on “Thucydides on Human Nature and Violence: Realist or Pessimist?” Thurs., Apr. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 101 of the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center on the Grinnell College campus.

Lalonde, who is Benedict Professor of Classics, has taught classics at Grinnell since 1969, including the histories of ancient Greece and Rome, Greek and Roman archaeology and art, and a wide array of courses in Greek and Latin literature. His lecture derives from a lifetime of teaching and thinking about Thucydides’ “Peloponnesian War,” a historical narrative of the clash of Athens and Sparta in the fifth century B.C.

In addition to his teaching, Lalonde, who holds a Ph.D. in classics from the University of Washington, conducts research on the topography and epigraphy of ancient Athens and has published both a monograph—“The Athenian Agora XIX, Inscriptions: Horoi, Poletai Records, Leases of Public Property,” co-authored with M. K. Langdon and M. B. Walbank—and numerous articles on the subject. He recently published a second book, “Horos Dios: An Athenian Shrine and Cult of Zeus,” which analyzes evidence for a shrine and cult of Zeus Meilichios in Athens.

The McKibben Lecture in the Department of Classics is endowed in honor of Bill and Betty McKibben, who together served for more than 50 years as teachers and scholars of classics at Grinnell College. The lecture is free and open to the public. The Rosenfield Center is located at 1115 8th Ave. on the Grinnell College campus. -30-